Good government: strong and centralized

Here in the U.S. we're super suspicious of a tyrannical federal government. That's why this column is here to report a recent observation of our federal government invading a citizen's privacy.

Here in the U.S. we're super suspicious of a tyrannical federal government. That's why this column is here to report a recent observation of our federal government invading a citizen's privacy.

Date and time: March 21, 2013, 1:25 p.m.

Observation: A federal employee parked a government vehicle in a private residential development. Exiting the vehicle, he looked left and right and then walked onto the private property of a nearby home. Swiftly, he made his way to the front porch. Without the owners knowing, he pushed some secret documents through a slot in the door and then made a hasty retreat.

Yes, this is our U.S. Postal Service at work — just one example of a vital service provided by our central government that's in the interest of the public good, even if the service encroaches on our privacy.

Societies need strong central governments, because only they have the might to harness the necessary resources for environmental safety, military defense, educating children, helping the disenfranchised and supporting transportation infrastructure, among other things.

Leaving these functions solely to municipalities or states can create a hodgepodge of bureaucracies that trip over each other.

Leaving these functions to private enterprise creates earnings for profiteers seeking to leverage money out of trusting citizens.

Only a strong central government can effectively foster relationships between human activities and the environment to advance the public good.

For example, in Sweden a strong central government has regulated water quality so strictly that people can drink right out of the lake in the middle of Stockholm, the nation's capital.

In Germany, a strong central government has built autobahn highways so well that people drive on them smoothly and safely at any speed. Why shouldn't we be able to drink water out of New York's Hudson Bay? Why shouldn't we have an interstate highway system with no speed limits?

Of all the possible forces for public good, a strong central government is the least contaminated by ulterior motives. Of course our federal government has inadequacies. Of course our federal government is not a panacea for all our societal needs.

But let's stop demonizing our federal government as an invasive and tyrannical beast that needs to be beaten back at every turn.

When it comes to creating the greatest public good, we need a central government that won't be deterred by snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night.

Rob McKenzie is a professor of communication studies at East Stroudsburg University.